Digital Moviemaking 3.0 [Paperback]

Scott Billups (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

If you wanted warm and fuzzy advice on making it in Hollywood, this aint the book for you. This is a take no prisoners book written by a real inside Hollywood professional that will help you get your work done and get it seen by the public.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Billups, who lives in Los Angeles, is an award-winning director/producer who has produced, directed, and written countless feautre films, television programs, and commercials.

Product Details

• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932907378
• ISBN-13: 978-1932907377
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear and Concise - Straightforward, No BS!, January 4, 2008

By 

Matthew Terry (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digital Moviemaking 3.0 (Paperback)

I can do it on my own, right? I've got the camera, right? I don't need anyone else's help...right?

I had hoped that when I cracked open this book it would provide me with a step-by-step guide on how to make my film with my Canon HV20. I've got the script, kinda. I know where I want to film, sorta. I can do it...maybe.

Though I had hoped to find a big warm shoulder of love and acceptance and "you can do it!" spunk, what I found was better. A tough-love, don't take any crap, here's what you're going to face...now FACE IT! Which, in reality, is what I really need at this point.
This book takes the digital movie industry and, frankly, smacks it upside the head (in a good way). Though the first few chapters have a tendency to bog down in minutia that I don't really understand: "A 4:1:1 signal would have full luminance but only a quarter of the original Y'CbCr color value and only 8% of the original RGB color." The author does an excellent job of pulling you through all of that and explaining it in a clear way, to the chapters regarding lighting, cast and crew, production, editing, etc.

If I have only one issue in regards to the book, it is that Mr. Billups does not spend any time actually talking much about the story that you want to shoot. A seminar I took in 2007 a Producer got up and frankly said: "Is your story worth shooting? Or is it crap?" Now, I don't expect a book on digital movie making to really devote a chapter to whether or not I'm wasting my time making a glorified home movie - but it would have been nice for some emphasis.

But that is a small dent in this otherwise smooth machine. What I like about this book and Mr. Billups's approach is that he's honest. Straightforward. No BS. And that's what I need before I step out into the darkness with my camera in my hand and go: "what the hell am I doing?"

This book details everything you need to know about Digital Movie Making, explaining it all in a clear and concise way. Buy a copy before you start filming, you'll be glad you did.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Billups makes technology read as easily as a "Dick and Jane" book..., December 31, 2007

By 

ECL (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Moviemaking 3.0 (Paperback)

I read his first two editions of the book, and this is his re-vamped third edition (hence the "3.0"). Totally worth buying anew even if you only want and need to understand THE NEW RED CAMERA. His chapter on this Next Big Thing is so easy, with the use of muffin cup visuals, I smugly chuckled because I could now hold my own next to those filmmaker guys in those damn ubiquitous director baseball caps and goatees, grabbing at explanations and hovering over jibberish-filled camera manuals as if they were mysterious Ouija boards.

I already said this of Billups' work: "If Bukowski or Henry Miller knew how to fix anything at all--even a toaster--and tried to write about it, they would've sounded like Scott Billups, who takes technology out of protected pockets and puts it between his legs where all good art and life resides."

Best of luck to you all, for making it in New York now pales in comparison to understanding all of this new technology. Scott is your gondola guide. Love him. Buy him flowers. Give him vitamins and keep him alive for subsequent editions.

--Erika Lopez, writer girl

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are thinking of buying an HDV camera, get this book!, June 24, 2008

By 

Phil "Phil" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Moviemaking 3.0 (Paperback)

Don't buy an HDV camera before reading this book. The author goes to great length to cut through the HDV sales hype and explains, in detail, why you should not expect true HD quality from that format due to compression issues and data rates. He also provides good, practical advice on non-camera equipment needs and post-production techniques. The book's only real shortcoming is the periodic typo that was missed by the author's spell checker, but this kinda adds a bit of humor to the book.